THE TEXT/TECH PAPERS

Warnack, James Marshall — Soul Symphonies

Death: December 31, 1957; birth date unverified

James Marshall Warnack lived several Los Angeles lives at once: silent-film actor, stage performer, Times religion editor, “Foothill Philosopher,” student of Yogananda, and poet whose work tried to hear one spirit moving through many faiths. Soul Symphonies begins with trees, lovers, flame, birds, desert, fog, and the sea, then keeps pressing toward unity, surrender, freedom, and the divine presence inside ordinary life. The poems can sound Christian, pantheist, or yogic without settling into a single creed—much like the journalist who covered churches while refusing membership in one. This edition resets the complete 1928 book, keeps its sequences intact, and restores continuations that the scan repeatedly detached from their poems.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Bibliography

Soul Symphonies: Poems. Quill and Press, 1928.

Poems and essays in East-West, 1929–1930s.

Christmas and Easter poems in the Los Angeles Times.

Works About the Author

Deslippe, Philip. “The Swami Circuit: Mapping the Terrain of Early American Yoga.” Yoga Studies 1, 2018.

Harnisch, Larry. “The Times Christmas Poem.” LA Daily Mirror.